10 Times The NFL Had Us Thinking The Super Bowl Was Rigged

In a perfect world, NFL officiating would never be a key storyline in the Super Bowl. But as the Rolling Stones titled one of their hit songs in 1969, “You can’t always get what you want.”

Unfortunately, NFL officiating has constantly been an issue on the grand stage. It gets so bad to the point where the conspiracy theorists can’t help but wonder if the game was really “rigged” and “scripted” behind the scenes.

Here are 10 fishy instances that had us wondering if the Super Bowl was rigged.

Which Super Bowl incidents had us second-guessing if it’s all rigged?

Super Bowl 57: Hold Or No Hold?

Football fans generally understand when officials are reluctant to throw a flag in a playoff game that’s going down to the wire. It’s a standard for the refs to simply “let them play” and avoid throwing the yellow marker unless it’s clearly blatant.

For much of Super Bowl 57 between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, this was the case. Carl Cheffers and his crew had called only eight penalties up until the game’s most important play.

The game was tied 35 apiece with less than two minutes to go. Patrick Mahomes’ squad faced a pivotal 3rd-and-8 situation in the red zone with 1:54 to go. The Eagles only had one timeout, so a first down here would almost seal the game for Kansas City.

Mahomes’ pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster fell incomplete. However, Eagles cornerback James Bradberry was flagged for “holding” on the play.

After letting them play all night, the officials threw a flag on a borderline call that essentially iced the game. The Chiefs were able to melt the clock and set up Harrison Butker’s short game-winning field goal, winning their second Super Bowl in four years.

Considering how much Kansas City has benefited from terrible officiating over the years, it’s easy for fans to think that the refs were totally “rigging” that game by throwing the flag on Bradberry.

Everything About Super Bowl 40

If there was one NFL game that ever looked legitimately scripted and rigged, it was Super Bowl 40. Easily.

The Seattle Seahawks squared off against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Ford Field in Super Bowl 40. This would be the last game for Steelers Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis, fittingly a Detroit native.

Unfortunately, the Seahawks never stood a chance in this game. And it was all because of the zebras. It started with this garbage offensive pass interference call against Darrell Jackson that nullified a touchdown, forcing Seattle to settle for a field goal.

Trailing 14-10 in the fourth quarter, Matt Hasselbeck hit Jerramy Stevens inside the five-yard line for a first down. Just when it looked like Seattle might take the lead? Sean Locklear was issued a phantom holding penalty.

Oh, it got worse. Hasselbeck was picked off by Ike Taylor on a pivotal 3rd-down play. And to add insult to injury, the officials penalized Hasselbeck for a block below the waist on the interception return. As Al Michaels explained, it was clearly a legal tackle.

The Steelers took advantage of the generous field position, with Antwaan Randle El throwing a touchdown pass to Hines Ward on a trick play to ice the game. 

Bettis retiring as a champion in his home city wasn’t the main storyline. Nor was Bill Cowher finally reaching the mountaintop. It was the referees taking over the game, to the benefit of one team. Just as everyone wanted!

Super Bowl 58: The Missed Game-Changing Call

Hey look! Another Super Bowl game where the Chiefs were the beneficiary of bad officiating — and the 49ers were on the wrong side.

What’s disappointing is that the referees actually did a good job calling this game for four quarters. But when Super Bowl 58 went to overtime? That, of course, was when the refs blew it. Again.

The 49ers kicked a field goal on the ensuing OT drive. With Kansas City facing a 3rd-and-6 situation at their own 41-yard line, the 49ers were now two stops away from winning the Super Bowl.

But Mahomes found a wide-open Rashee Rice for a big gain and a fresh set of downs. It was made possible by Jerick McKinnon’s holding infraction on Fred Warner….which the refs inexplicably missed.

So instead of 3rd-and-long, the Chiefs get the first down. Mahomes caps off the drive with a game-winning touchdown to Mecole Hardman. Because why shouldn’t the Chiefs get help from the refs with the Super Bowl on the line?

Super Bowl 55: Flags Galore On Kansas City

If you really hate Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, and if you think the officials have actually rigged games for them? Good news for you. The officials were also entirely against them in their Super Bowl 55 blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Fans want to see a Patrick Mahomes vs. Tom Brady Super Bowl in the bizarre 2020 season, impacted by COVID-19. Unfortunately, the refs decided to take center stage — specifically by helping the home team.

The referees called penalty after penalty after penalty on Kansas City. Tyrann Mathieu’s potential game-changing interception to halt Tampa’s momentum was nullified by this tacky penalty call. That set up the Bucs’ second touchdown.

Then there was a pathetic defensive pass interference call late in the first half, when it was totally uncatchable for Mike Evans.

Speaking of uncatchable balls, Tom Brady nearly throwing the ball into the stands somehow justified a PI penalty against Mathieu.

So that set up Brady’s touchdown pass to Antonio Brown that practically put the game on ice at halftime. And somehow, there was the instance where ONLY Mathieu was penalized when he and Tom Brady engaged in some heated trash talk.

So, the Chiefs could never really rebound after all those horrific calls — two of which led to 14 points for the Bucs before halftime. As if Tom Brady didn’t already benefit enough from horrendous officiating over the years…he got all the help from the officials over Mahomes on this one.

Super Bowl 53: The Game-Changing Non-Call

If there was one Super Bowl for everyone to hate, it was this one. The Los Angeles Rams didn’t deserve to be there. They only got in because of the NOLA No-Call, easily the worst officiating mistake in NFL history.

The New England Patriots? Everyone outside of New England had Pats fatigue at this point. And they, too, benefited from some questionable calls in their epic overtime win over Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.

So it’s only fitting that this yawn-fest of a Super Bowl was impacted by atrocious officiating. More specifically, Stephon Gilmore’s clear-as-day defensive pass interference penalty on Brandin Cooks went uncalled.

It should have been first-and-goal from the one there. Instead, Jared Goff threw a pick to Gilmore that put the game away. Afterward, the NFL admitted the refs made a mistake and should have penalized Gilmore. A controversial and dull end to arguably the most boring Super Bowl ever.

Super Bowl 54: Everything Goes Against The 49ers

There’s no telling how different NFL history would have been if the San Francisco 49ers had defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 54. Maybe the 49ers start a 2020s dynasty instead, and maybe the Chiefs never recover from the heartbreak?

Make no mistake, the 49ers simply choked by giving up 21 unanswered points in their gut-wrenching loss to KC in Super Bowl 54. But the officials were also on the side of the AFC Champions in this one.

For starters, you had this head-scratching offensive PI call against George Kittle that thwarted a go-ahead field goal attempt at the end of the first half.

Clinging to a three-point lead with five minutes left, Jimmy Garoppolo’s third-down pass attempt fell incomplete. However, replays showed that he took a vicious hit to the head and should have drawn a “roughing the passer penalty.”

Instead of a fresh set of downs, the 49ers had to punt. So, what happened on the ensuing drive? Patrick Mahomes’ game-winning touchdown reception to Damien Williams, ahem, didn’t really look like a touchdown. Looks like he was clearly out of bounds to us!

You know the rest. The TD stands. The Chiefs get the turnover on downs and put it away on another touchdown.

Three awful calls in extremely pivotal parts of the game. All going against the 49ers and against Kansas City. Seems like the perfect script to write if you’re part of that crowd.

Double Controversy At The End Of Super Bowl 43

If it makes the Seahawks and their fans feel better, they weren’t the only NFC West team that got robbed by questionable officiating in a Super Bowl against Ben Roethlisberger’s Steelers.

Whether Steelers fans like it or not, there will always be controversy about Santonio Holmes’ game-winning touchdown. His toes were in bounds, yes, but did he really have possession all the way? We know what Steelers fans will say…and what Cardinals fans will say.

Of course, the controversy doesn’t end there. Lamarr Woodley strip-sacked Kurt Warner in the waning seconds to seal the Super Bowl, preventing the two-time MVP from attempting a last-second Hail Mary pass.

Decide for yourself: Was this actually a fumble or an incomplete pass?

Warner expressed confusion over the ruling, per NBC, remaining adamant that it was an incomplete pass. At any rate, the controversial finish was enough for some disgruntled fans to firmly believe that the refs rigged the game for Pittsburgh. Again.

Super Bowl 47: The Hold That Wasn’t

Remember what we said about how the officials usually let them play? Well, “let them play” is exactly what happened at the end of Super Bowl 47 between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers.

But this goes back to the ending of Super Bowl 57 ten years later: Do you let them play, OR call a foul by the rulebook? Again, just no consistency from NFL officiating whatsoever.

The Baltimore Ravens were clinging to a 34-29 lead on the San Francisco 49ers with 1:50 to go in the Super Bowl. The 49ers were facing a 4th-and-goal situation at the five-yard line. With only one timeout left in their pockets, this was basically the game.

Colin Kaepernick heaved the ball up to receiver Michael Crabtree in the end zone. It fell incomplete, but it certainly looked like Jimmy Smith got away with blatant defensive holding.

The Ravens melted the clock to ice the game. As for those in the “rigged” conspiracy theory? Easy to believe, between the power outage and the storyline of Ray Lewis going out on top as a Super Bowl champion.

Super Bowl 56: Double Trouble For Bengals

As if the Cincinnati Bengals and their fans haven’t been tortured enough over the years? Count on the officials to screw up their best shot at a Super Bowl in franchise history.

Joe Burrow and the feel-good Cinderella story Bengals had Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams on the ropes. Cincy led 20-16 with just under two minutes left, needing just two more stops to get the back back and “likely” seal the Super Bowl.

On the 3rd-and-goal play, you can see three Rams’ offensive linemen get away with a blatant false start that should have set them back five yards.

That’s not even a judgment call. That’s a straight-up botch job by the officials. And to put icing on the cake, the refs called a tacky defensive holding penalty on Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson.

With a fresh set of downs at the goal line, Stafford hit Cooper Kupp for the go-ahead touchdown. The Rams’ D forced a turnover on downs to clinch the Super Bowl, thanks largely to two horrific officiating mistakes on the game’s biggest play!

So yeah, don’t blame Bengals fans for feeling like the refs stole this one from them.

Super Bowl 51: Too Good To Be A Real Comeback?

Thankfully, the NFL officials didn’t really take over Super Bowl 51 between the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots. But for those who genuinely believe the NFL is “scripted” like WWE? Certainly, they’d have a field day explaining to you why Super Bowl 51 was scripted in every aspect.

I mean, what can you say? How to the Falcons blow a 28-3 lead with a quarter and a half to go? How do they inexplicably botch every single offensive playcall after scoring their fourth touchdown? And how does a Matt Ryan and Julio Jones-led offense blow it?

Robert Alford’s dropped interception that led to Julian Edelman’s miracle catch on the Patriots’ game-tying drive? The Falcons not running the ball and taking a dumb penalty and sack when they were in field goal range to ice the game late?

The Patriots’ epic 25-point comeback and overtime win was so incredible that, to this day, many folks refuse to take it seriously. It was like the Falcons didn’t want it, because they were following an Oscar-worthy script to blow it…

There’s always going to be that crowd that questions the authenticity of New England’s historic comeback.